Figurative Bust Sculptures

 

Hypnosis 

Air-Dry Clay, Wood, Ink

Right Sculpture: 5.5" x 5" x 4" 

Left Sculpture: 5" x 3" x 3"

Additional Photos:

Artist Statement: 

The sculptures, titled, Hypnosis reflect how our society has become hypnotized and overconsumed with media. The bust on the right has the head of a computer screen with swirling black and white stripes. This represents the medias hypnotizing and addicting effect it has on its viewers. This is further represented by the human bust, on the left, having the same swirl within its eyes. In addition, the human figure has a very slack expression, with its mouth open, almost as if drool was about to come out. This expression was also to show the all consuming effect the media has, as the viewer, (the left bust) is so hypnotized they are just sitting there letting the screen take over. This sculpture also relates to how the media can warp peoples perceptions. As the human bust takes the information on the screen and relays it within its own eyes, showing how the information gets passed on from the media to the viewer. 

Research: 

https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2021/10/29/addictive-potential-of-social-media-explained/

    This article discusses how social media is extremally addictive, even releasing the addiction-related chemical Dopamine within our brains. The article is an Interview with author, Anna Lembke. MD. She describes social media as being partially addictive because humans brains have always released dopamine from human connections, and social media does that to the max, "Making us vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption".  

https://www.thechicagoschool.edu/insight/from-the-magazine/a-virtual-life/

    This article talks about how social media is changing our perceptions. For example they discuss how social media is not a real world, and what a study in 2011 found about adolescents and families using social media and creating "Facebook Depression" from not accumulating enough friends or likes.   

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200512-how-the-news-changes-the-way-we-think-and-behave

    This article considers how the news and the constant influx of tragedy affects the viewers. Some examples of how it changes our perceptions include, "[Leading] us to miscalculate certain risks, shape our views of foreign, countries, and possibly influence the health of entire economies." 

Work in Progress Pictures: